Archive for Hidden Decisions

The Logical Soul(tm) is a process involving 4 phases:Â the Interview, Discovery, Access, and Resolution (or Intergration). Each of these four are crucial for hidden decisions to change and results to “take.”

The first phase – the Interview – is taken from the Socratic method. This method, obviously, was derived from the habit that the philosopher (and “corrupter of the Athenian youth”)Socrates developed to ask questions, more questions, then still more questions, until the truth is revealed.

This 20-question approach actually pinpoints the problem needing resolution.Â Without digging beyond the surface and finding that “needle in the haystack,” or hidden factor that truly motivates us, we are unable to change our results. Â Period.

As I spoke with my kinfolk, I began to feel the fear, hope, and love that binds us and makes us feel connected.Â Some of them – like my aged cousin Mary Tootle – has a special way of bringing out a huge wave of love every time I speak with her.

Family can do this when nothing else can. I need it now especially since I just said goodbye to my beloved wife Brigitte who is visiting her family in Germany, and will be attending our neice’s and nephew’s church confirmations their in Munich.Â (Gruss Gott, ya’ll . . . Nicola und Christoph!!)

If you’re having problems with your family, get over it!

In fact, resolve to love every minute of their nagging, bitching, moaning, anger and fear. Right in the middle of some upset, go over and give them a hug (I know its not “cool,” but we are always so worried about looking good we don’t have time to see what’s right in front of us!)

We all want to be loved, and the best way to get it is to give some.Â Tell each family member at some point that, because you won’t live forever,Â you want ensure that love remains a legacy for those who follow you both.

Love family members – right now! This is the best gift you can give YOUR descendants . . . and heal your ancestors at the same time.

I ran out of money this month. And last month.Â And the one before that.Â That’s really all I knew . . . until just yesterday when I sat down and actually did a budget.

What’s scary is how long I kept myself from knowing how much I actually owed on credit cards, lines of credit, and even how much I needed for basic monthly expenses that never change.Â You see, I have this problem.Â When money is coming in on a regular basis, I pay attention to the amounts, pay all the bills, and budget whatever I have for other things I want.

The problem arises when money is NOT coming in regularly.Â Its at these times I tend to go unconscious. I stop entering stuff into the checkbook, and stop looking at the items on my credit card statement except for the minimum payment. My reasoning in the past has been – I’m going to borrow money to pay the bills – no matter what – so I’ll pay attention to the amounts when I have the money to pay them.Â Tomorrow . . .

I also figured we would never starve because my wife has a good job.Â And that’s true.Â But the cost of my lack of consciousness has been huge. The conscious belief that “Universe will provide” suddenly clashed with some hidden decisions based on an inner feeling of lack and helplessness.

About a month ago, this Marley’s Ghost came back to haunt me big time.Â The actual pain caught up to me when, after discussing the matter with my wife (who is very frugal and good with money, by the way) hit the ceiling.

I realized I had a problem, and promptly stopped.Â Cold turkey.Â No more credit cards.Â I’m closing my line of credit and cutting up the cards.Â I’m actually even writing down all my debts and expenses and working on a plan to PAY them!

With little money coming in, this is not easy.Â But not knowing is deadly!!

My resolution is to do this budget thing the way I used to . . . with daily numbers, tracking expenses, using monthly budget envelopes for cash, cutting up the credit cards or LOC’s, and start tackling this mountain of debt.Â For the latter, I’m focused on generating more income through my books and course, and with private sessions.

It will take time.Â And dedication.Â And the continued love and understanding of a fantastic mate.Â And it WILL be done!

The first monthly meeting of the Atlanta Logical Soul for Entrepreneurs (Wednesday night, February 10th at 7:30 pm) was an unqualified success.Â Eleven people attended – a little better than half-capacity – and the group stayed interested and involved until well after 9:30 pm when the meeting was supposed to be over.

Dr. Michael Craig gave a presentation and demonstration of the theme of the program – the Logical Soul ™ – and how it can be used to quickly overcome mental and emotional limitations with money and business issues.

At the heart of the matter is the Cycle of Manifestation that is affected by hidden decisions that interrupt the normal flow from thought to desire to action to achievement to fulfillment. By short-circuiting this process with hidden agendas and decisions, we short-circuit our success on many levels.

Dr. Craig demonstrated on a volunteer to give a graphic illustration about how this works . . . and how to change the hidden decisions without too much hassle or trauma.Â He tested the volunteer for beliefs stored in the body – deep subconscious memories – and showed how decisions arising out of these beliefs can guide our thoughts, behavior and ultimate outcomes.Â Some of the statements involved:

How much areÂ you worth?

How much can you accept?

How much can you easily earn?

How much can you act on attracting?

A statement was made related to each issue, then tested with a “yes” or “no” response from muscle testing.Â By making distinctions between the true and false statements, we were able to map out the beliefs of this volunteer and discover the “lynchpin” decisions that heldÂ her beliefs in place.

After clearing her decisions, there was a lot of buzz and excitement.Â All seemed eager to learn the technique, a few people bought books, and all said they would be back in March.

If you are interested in reserving your spot for the next Meetup on March the 10th, please do so right away.Â Â See you there!

The first Logical Soul(tm) Meetup group is meeting tonight at 7:30 in at the Norcross Cultural Arts and Community Center in old town Norcross, Georgia in the NE Atlanta “burbs.”Â This one is geared towards helping Entrepreneurs and aspiring wealth builders get clear of the hidden decisions – the chains that bind them – and move towards real success.

So far, there are about 10 members attending, and Don Sherrill has agreed to run the video camera, so I should have some excellent footage of the event.

The community center is located in the Sunday School building of the old Norcross Methodist Church built in 1875 and recently renovated.Â If you’re in the Atlanta area, make plans to attend.Â Don’t miss it – go now toÂ www.meetup.com/logicalsoulatlanta to sign up and save your spot.

“Moral Hazard” is a term coined by banks and insurance companies to determine the economic risk they face when they lend or insure a property for more than the property is worth. This is a risk because there is NO incentive, then, for the owner to take care of – or finish paying for – the property.Â It is a type of delusion that can only lead to failure and loss.

This type of hazardÂ also has parallels in other fields and can manifest itself in multiple ways related to the “Theory of Unintended Consequences.”Â Â This theory says, in essence, that while we may set out to do something helpful and constructive, we often end up creating the opposite results to what we intended.Â Here are some examples:

Relationships: One person might consider themselves “compassionate” when, in fact, they are an “enabler” that allows his or her partner to get away with proverbial murder.Â The other partner has less and less incentive to contribute to the relationship, and it eventually falls apart.

Health: Moral hazard in health arises when you do a few “healthy” things to feel good, like drinking diet colas and eating yogurt.Â These deeds give you the illusion of adding to good health when, in fact, they are only hiding your hidden decision to stay addicted to whatever you’re addicted to.Â As long as you continue to push the other stuff like smoking, no exercise, overeating fast foods, or doing drugs, you will eventually be pushing up daisys!

Personal Growth: Personal growth only takes place when there is a dynamic present that spurs you to make a decision.Â If you have lived a life of poverty, personal growth takes place when you resolve to escape it.Â If you suffer ill health or loss, personal growth comes about as a result of drastic measures on your part to improve your condition.Â The “moral hazard” comes in when others take this away from you, or soften the blow to the point where there is little or no incentive to take action.

Government appears to be the greatest enabler of our generation, and The Theory of Unintended Consequences was probably conceived with government in mind. Check out this video . . .

One of the biggest ways I sabotage myself – and maybe you do too – is through the sloppy use of time. Since time is the unit of measure used by most modern civilizations, the saying “time is money” has merit.

I’ll be the first to admit, however, that I find the concept of budgeting time like some bean counter in an accounting office frustratingly absurd.Â I mean, whose time is it anyway?!!Â If I want to waste a ton of it, so be it!!Â Meetings?Â Appointments?Â Being prompt?Â Forget it . . . I mean really…!

. . . Slam!

That was the sound of my customers, friends, and everyone else I come in contact with, leaving. Did I just sabotage my chances with doing business with them?Â Getting to know them better?Â Being of service to them – and them to me? You betcha.

Time Management Self-Sabotage

Like it or not, time coordinates our activities and relationships on this planet.Â While the dreaded timepiece (watch, clock, PDA, cell phone) is a constant reminder that we are “running out” of it, time also gives us the ability to rendezvous with friends and lovers, and create structure in our lives. Even our cavemen ancestors used it to measure the nights and days, seasons, and lifetimes. It was their connection to survival and to the gods.

Today we have that lovely invention – the computer – that thinks for us, remembers things for us, and does tons of work for us.Â It also manages our time for us, right?

Wrong! While we may FEEL like we’re getting more done, our computers keep giving us more to do . . . consequently they WASTE more time than they save.

If you’re anything like me,you love your computer because it gives you the illusion that you can get a lot of things done at one time. It makes you feel powerful.Â Productive.Â All-seeing, all-knowing, and omnipresent, right?

The truth is your computer can only complete one task at a time . . . it just does it much faster than you can.

Don’t believe me?Â Try this…

Open up as many programs as you can on your computer. What happens? It will come to a grinding halt and you will probably end up re-booting it and wondering what happened.

What happened is you proved that your computer sucks at multi-talking. The truth is it can only process a single instruction at a time.Â It is an illusion to believe otherwise.

The same thing happens when you try to do too many projects at once. Like your all-knowing computer you, too, will crash and burn.

In the past, if you were to ask me what project I am working on, I would hem, haw, and throw out a laundry list of activities.Â Â Recently, however, I have learned to focus and tell people the EXACT project I’m in.

I’ve also found that about 90% of people I come in contact with ALSO have that laundry list of projects they are working on.Â This makes me a bit sad because I know the chances of them finishing any single one of those is almost non-existent.

Just as your computer comes to a grinding halt when you make it work on too many things, so will you.Â You will simply end up frustrated, suffering from information overload and even worse… without a business that generates revenue. No product no revenue, right?

How much money are those TEN projects that are half finished making you? My guess is none.

My life has been the canvas on which a series of major turning points have been imprinted. Here are a few more of the ones that led to my own hidden decisions:

Looney Tunes Strikes Again

I don’t know if it was because I had my third eye smacked open or what. Until I was eleven years old, however, I believed that everyone “ including myself “ were all cartoon characters.

This was understandable, in part since my Saturday morning and after-school world largely consisted of Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, Donald Duck, Peter Pan, Superman,and other characters who were invited into my life through TV and comic books.

The good news was that life was fiercely fun, and my grades didn’t seem to be affected except to draw complaints from my teachers who reported I day-dreamed too much. I still made honor roll every year, however, and was usually popular with classmates.

The bad news was that I did things that freaked out my family and friends on a regular basis. Because life was usually so non-threatening, things like heights, strangers, big dogs, and sharp objects rarely gave me pause to consider the consequences. I considered my body as part of the playground I was given to play in, that’s all.

One day my friend David shot out my tooth with a BB gun. I picked up the dislodged canine and ran home yelling to my Mom something about getting rich that night from the Tooth Fairy! Apparently she didn’t find this amusing since my Dad later had a long talk with me about the importance of NOT getting shot in the head with guns.

The other problem with living in a cartoon is that I believed that living things never die or even get hurt. I learned the error of my thinking one day when David and I spent the afternoon playing with our new kittens “ occasionally submerging them in a large bucket of water. The resulting whipping I got from my Dad made me realize that animals have feelings too.

I respected animals from that day forward. The decision I made after the spanking made sure of that. In fact, I could not kill any of them for any reason. My Dad probably realized he created a monster when I started throwing freshly-caught fish back, became a vegetarian, avoided stepping on ants, and screamed to save roaches and rats from the exterminator.

I just found out I lied to my wife about money, and I really feel sick about it!

It wouldn’t be so bad, except that I see myself as this stand-up guy just dripping with integrity . . . (OK, that may sound a bit much, but something like that anyway).

Many months ago, my wife (the one with the real job) paid off a credit card debt and I promised that I wouldn’t generate more.Â At the time, I fully intended to keep that promise. Â Â In reality, I didn’t; I wrote a check on a line of credit we had in order to cover some (what I considered to be necessary) bills without consulting with her.Â This was such a classic no-no that I even blocked the previous promise I made out of my memory!Â I simply forgot my promise!!

My (not-so) evil twin (low self) apparently had made a hidden decision that our primary objective was to keep the bills paid.Â The consequences are that I lost my feeling of integrity.Â Now both I and my (no so) evil twin feel terrible; sick to my stomach, like my stomach just filled with bile . . .

The new year is upon us, and the “resolution bug” bites us with the promise of glorious health, grand riches, and perfect relationships.Â Then, sometime before March, reality sets in.

You wanted to lose that 20 pounds, get the ideal job, find the perfect life mate, and get out of debt.Â But somehow progress is slow or nonexistent, and before you know it, Thanksgiving arrives and you have nothing to show for your (by now) forgotten resolutions.

The main culprit, however, is far more subtle and powerful than we could imagine. Â This culprit?Â . . . . a second “self.”

That’s right.Â There is another “self” in there with you! While your so-called ego self is the one who speaks and makes logical decisions (and resolutions), it is powerless without its twin, the inner self.

This inner self (or force) was even given a name by the ancients:Â Ka by the Egyptians, Chi by the Chinese, Ki by Japanese, and Ku or Unihipili by the Hawaiian Kahunas. They speak of this self as one who does not speak, but embodies the senses, memory, and driving force required to accomplish anything.

Even modern brain scientists understand the profound impact of thisÂ silent self.Â Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD wrote in her book My Stroke of Insight how her own stroke experience revealed the power of her right brain, and that this entity exhibited, in her words, “different values” than those of her left brain self.

By ignoring the integrity of this being, i.e., NOT treating this being as a separate and distinct self,Â we westerners are missing half (or more) of our ability to accomplish our goals and dreams.Â So long as we try to program, hypnotize, manipulate, or otherwise control “our subconscious,” it will just fight back.

This self knows ALL our tricks, remember?Â Â The “equal and opposite reaction” is this:Â the more we ignore this being and try to reach our goals without his or her support, the less certain we will succeed.

So long as we see ourselves as “individuals,” i.e., undivided beings, we will continue to buy into the illusion that this hidden self is really only a part of what we consider “us,” and has no abilities outside of what we “program” it to do!

Begin to speak the language of your hidden self and you can begin to influence its behavior.Â Find out what he/she needs, then act to give that.Â Otherwise, you will always be a “victim” of self-sabotage since this hidden self is not on board with your wishes!